Pushkin Hills

"An unsuccessful writer and an inveterate alcoholic, Boris Alikhanov has recently divorced his wife Tatyana, and he is running out of money. The prospect of a summer job as a tour guide at the Pushkin Hills Preserve offers him hope of regaining some balance in life as his wife makes plans to emigrate to the West with their daughter Masha, but during Alikhanov's stay in the rural estate of Mikhaylovskoye, his life continues to unravel"-- Provided by publisher.

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I think this book will be closer to the Russian people, first, because of the specific issues and problems of life in the USSR in the 70s, described by the author. He wrote with a sense of humor, which, unfortunately, sometimes goes beyond decency. If a person decides to become a dissident, he / she should not pitifully write about his nostalgia for his homeland. So why did they go? Dovlatov is one of those writers.

BCD2013
May 06, 2014

A mordantly funny, semi-autobiographical novel by Soviet émigré Dovlatov which tells the story of a failed writer who, in order to survive, becomes a tour guide at the Pushkin Hills Preserve, where he mocks the Pushkin devotees who flock to the estate. Although Dovlatov died in 1990, this is the first English publication of his work. Kurt Vonnegut was a big fan. What about you?